Brighton Rocks: The Great Escape 2011 is back

A full preview on the seaside bash including a Spotify playlist

Daniel Fahey looks ahead to The Great Escape 2011 with who to see, what to drink and that all important Spotify playlist to
get you in the mood.

The Great Escape? Isn’t that a Steve McQueen film?It is, but that’s not what we’re
here to natter over. I’m more excited about the three-day seaside getaway of the same name, which takes place around
Brighton from 12-14 May.

I love the seaside!You’ll
love it even more when you find out that it’s not all about broken deckchairs, swindling arcade machines and sunburn.
The Great Escape is a music festival that brings together boatloads of bands from around the globe - enough
for Customs to get suspicious at the very least.

This year they’re focusing on Irish acts and I don’t
mean crap like Westlife. Far from it. There will be the acoustic attractiveness from Villagers and James Vincent
McMorrow to the more hectic, guitar-bashing beauties likeFight Like Apesand And So I Watch You
From Afar….

Sounds good. What else is there?Well, the programme is packed
tighter than wet sand in a bucket with the return of DJ Shadowas
well as indie bum-wigglers Friendly Fires and rapper-turned-pop-star
Example. There’s so much more as well, just check
out the line-up here, with Cerebal Ballzy, Starfucker
and You Can’t Win Charlie Brown among the best band names. There’s also an industry conference
if that floats your boat…

Who are the ‘must see’ bands this year then?Well,
you can’t go wrong with this lot:

BrasstronautCanada’s Brasstronaut
seem sick of everything. Not in a smash-the-place-up-style, but in genital brass-led baroque pieces, where they wish death
of things like the internet with as much force as a daisy fluttering in the wind.

Wow. I want in! Can I still get tickets?Well, Saturday
single day tickets are sold out, but you can still get Thursday (£22.50) and Friday (£27.50) tickets as well as
three-day (£49.50) tickets too. If you really can’t make it all, there are Friday and Saturday-combi (£38)
tickets available too.

What else do I need to know?I
best tell you that there’s no camping, so you should sort somewhere to stay, unless you think you can sleep on Brighton
beach’s pebbles for three nights. I also suggest that you get into venues early to catch bands that you really want
to see because once a gig is full they just won’t let you in. Oh and try the Tuaca – it’s a Great Escape
staple.